Legal

A judge is set to rule on whether individual firms in unincorporated joint ventures can independently commence and enforce adjudication proceedings. A High Court ruling on a £24m Hinkley Point C (HPC) adjudication could set a landmark precedent for dispute resolution in large infrastructure joint venture (JV) projects. In the…

A Peabody maintenance subsidiary has been fined £400,000 after an employee died from inhaling toxic vapours from flooring adhesive. Darren Nevill was working for Ealing-based Connect Property Services Ltd laying a vinyl bathroom floor at a property in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, on 9 December 2020 when he lost consciousness and collapsed,…

Police have made two more arrests as part of an ongoing investigation into a huge waste dumping operation in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, the Environment Agency (EA) has announced. Officers from the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit, working with the EA, Thames Valley Police, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary and…

Administrators for a defunct private finance initiative (PFI) vehicle said they could move forward with an £18.3m legal claim against Kier over a police station completed 18 years ago. Administrators for Justice Support Services (North Kent) Ltd said in a progress report that they had settled a legal claim against…

Police have uncovered nearly £2m of stolen construction equipment after they tracked tools stolen from Balfour Beatty subcontractors building access roads to the Lower Thames Crossing. The Metropolitan Police announced yesterday (28 January) that officers had raided a property in Ilford and discovered the huge stash – the equivalent of…

A builder has been given a suspended prison sentence after his employee fell through a fragile rooflight and suffered life-changing injuries, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The incident happened on 12 August 2023 when an employee of Kent-based Jenner Roofing and Building Services was cleaning and repairing…

A specialist subcontractor on Hinkley Point C (HPC) is taking the main contractor joint venture (JV) to the High Court to enforce a £24m adjudication. Darchem Engineering Ltd took Bylor – the Laing O’Rourke and Bouygues Travaux Publics JV constructing the nuclear site – to three adjudications in 2025 over…

A Heidelberg Materials UK subsidiary whose bailiffs served a “fake” eviction notice on protestors who threatened to blow up its quarry could face contempt of court proceedings. Hanson Quarry Products Europe Ltd is taking three protesters to court for allegedly breaching injunctions banning them from blocking its premises in Pontypridd,…

The parent companies of collapsed Ardmore Construction say a £40m legal claim by Taylor Wimpey is invalid because they reached settlement on the contract two years ago. Taylor Wimpey is seeking a building liability order (BLO) and damages over fire safety and design defects to 72 properties at Morea Mews,…

A shed firm which claimed it is not liable to pay the industry levy has lost its case. Perth-based Gillies and Mackay Ltd took the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) to an employment tribunal in Dundee arguing levy assessments for 2022 and 2023 were invalid. Its director Cara-Anne Mackay claimed…